General Sherman
and his March to the Sea
What was it?
One witness reported "immense and raging fires lighting up whole heavens... huge waves of fire roll up into the sky; presently the skeleton of great warehouses stand out in relief against sheets of roaring, blazing, furious flames."
Sherman's Commanders
General William T. Sherman's commanders on the March to the Sea were: (standing left to right) Oliver O. Howard, William B. Hazen, Jefferson C. Davis, Joseph A. Mower, (seated left to right) John A. Logan, Sherman, Henry W. Slocum, Francis P. Blair Jr.
Sherman and Slaves
Former slaves joined Sherman and his troops as they destroyed plantations, crops, buildings, and supplies
Destruction
Sherman left a lot cities and towns destroyed. This is a picture of Atlanta after Sherman's March
Why it was Important During the War
Sherman's March also frightened civilians of the south. The people thought that the Confederacy could protect their home front, but they soon realized that that wasn't completely true.
Sherman believed that this would shorten the war by breaking the Confederate's will to fight, and he eventually received permission to carry this type of warfare into South Carolina in early 1865. By marching through Georgia and South Carolina he became an archvillain in the South and a hero in the North.